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Hypoglycaemic Brittle Diabetes Successfully Managed by Social Worker Intervention
Author(s) -
Gill G.,
Robinson M.,
Marrow J.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
diabetic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.474
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1464-5491
pISSN - 0742-3071
DOI - 10.1111/j.1464-5491.1989.tb01203.x
Subject(s) - medicine , intervention (counseling) , diabetes mellitus , coma (optics) , emergency department , insulin , pediatrics , emergency medicine , medical emergency , intensive care medicine , surgery , psychiatry , endocrinology , physics , optics
The case is presented of a 39‐year‐old Type 1 diabetic patient of 22 years duration with recurrent hypoglycaemic comas. He was of unusual personality and had bizarre ideas on self‐regulation of his diabetes, resulting in wide variations of insulin dosage. In one 12‐month period he had 88 separate admissions to an emergency department with severe hypoglycaemic coma requiring intravenous glucose administration. The cycle of admissions was eventually broken by the intervention of a social worker, who provided structured non‐medical support. The patient's diabetic misconceptions remained, but he appeared to gain sufficient insight to prevent recurrent hypoglycaemia.